The History. . .

1747 – 1812   The Lightfoots

In 1725, Samuel Lightfoot acquired land in Pikeland Township and built a grist mill in c. 1747. Lightfoot was one of Pikeland’s earliest settlers and was its largest landowner.  In addition to owning the Mill, Lightfoot, a surveyor, maintained the field records for Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon while they worked from 1763-1767 to establish the boundary between Pennsylvania and Maryland.

The Mill and Lightfoot’s work as a surveyor made him the wealthiest man and the largest taxpayer in the township, as well as a leader in political life. Samuel divided his property in 1767 giving his son William the grist mill and 250 acres. For sixty-five years the Mill prospered under the Lightfoot family, from Samuel’s son, William, in 1777, and to his grandson, Samuel, in 1797. 

     1790 Federal Census Pikeland, Pa.

1812 – 1820   Rees and Benson

In 1812, the Mill was sold to Lewis Rees and James Benson of Reading who, ten years later, conveyed the property to Rees Sheneman.

1820 – 1859   The Shenemans

The Shenemans lavished attention on the miller’s house. The labor-saving concept of continuous production introduced by American inventor Oliver Evans in 1795 was probably incorporated in the Mill in the 1820s. Elevators and conveyors eliminated having to carry the grain between the floors in the Mill. However, the Mill’s original power train remained untouched.  

1859 – 1886   The Oberholtzers

In 1859, just before the Civil War, Elias Oberholtzer purchased the Mill and turned it over to his son, John, who ran the Mill until 1871.

Around the Mill, the village, then known as Cambria, grew, becoming a vibrant center for transportation and commerce by the end of the 19th century.  Injured while freeing the water wheel from ice in 1871, miller John Oberholtzer turned his attention to other commercial activities. He saw the site as having great potential for becoming a pivotal center for farm produce and changing farm methods.  In 1872, he constructed a store, in which under the name “Oberholtzer and Hartman,” he sold grains, coal, lumber and feed.  In 1872, Oberholtzer and other area farmers and businessmen were successful in persuading the Reading Railroad to establish a spur line to run through the Pickering Valley. 

The Pickering Valley Railroad was established over a 13-mile stretch from Phoenixville to Byers.  Cambria soon was a commercial center featuring a train station, a post office, a warehouse and store, and served as a major shipping point for dairy products sent to Philadelphia. Once the railroad arrived, serious confusion developed over freight deliveries with another Cambria near Johnstown. Cambria was renamed Anselma, and the name remains today. Anselma’s prosperity lasted through the 1920s when the coming of the automobile and truck ended the reliance on railway transportation. 

While nurturing John’s business interests, the Mill became muse to the writing talents of his wife, Sarah Louise Vickers Oberholtzer. Most appropriately, one of her more famous works was At the Old Mill.

1886 – 1919   Allen Simmers

After  John Oberholtzer was injured freeing the water wheel from ice, he hired James Laird to serve as Miller. By 1880, Laird hired Allen Simmers as an apprentice. Simmers lived with Laird and his wife. He later purchased the mill in 1886. Simmers upgraded the mill systems and in c. 1906, he replaced the Mill’s wooden water wheel with a steel water wheel manufactured by the Fitz Water Wheel Company of Hanover, Pennsylvania.  In 1919, he sold the Mill to Oliver E. Collins for $2,800.                                                   The Simmers Family 1900

1919 – 1982   Oliver E. Collins

When grain milling technology began to change, Oliver Collins responded with Yankee ingenuity. While maintaining the age-old processes and machinery, he turned the Mill from an 18^th century community enterprise into a viable way to make a 20^th century living. Displaying amazing creativity, Mr. Collins successfully operated a mill, cider press, metal working shop, barbershop, and repaired lawn mowers. In addition, he was the postmaster of the Anselma Post Office. These enterprises supported his family and enabled the Mill to remain intact.

With the onset of the Great Depression, Mr. Collins responded with the self-reliance and creativity that typified his generation, relying on the power of the Colonial-Era Mill to make a living.  With amazing ingenuity, he successfully operated the grist mill, saw mill, cider press, metal working shop, and barber shop, and repaired lawn mowers, as well as served as postmaster of the Anselma Post Office.  These enterprises supported his family and enabled the Mill to remain intact. With his office virtually intact and his machinery preserved, the spirit and ingenuity of Mr. Collins lives on at the Mill at Anselma.

1982 – 1998   The French and Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust

In 1982, the Mill was acquired by the French Creeks Conservation Trust. The Trust, to our great benefit, expended effort and funds for the Mill’s continued preservation, as well as greatly increasing the acreage of the site.

1998 – Present   The Mill at Anselma Preservation and Educational Trust

Today, the Mill at Anselma is the most complete known example of a custom grain mill and demonstrates the impact of changing technology on the mill industry over the course of three centuries. The Mill at Anselma Preservation and Educational Trust is dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of the nationally significant Mill at Anselma and its surrounding landscape.  It’s the Mill Trust’s vision to create an innovative historical resource that brings Chester County’s rich industrial and agricultural history to life in ways that are meaningful for current and future generations.                                        

Today, we are reminded of those whose foresight and vision preserved this technological treasure, showing a way of life that will never again exist.